Missing Tahoe girl Jaycee Lee Dugard found after 18 years

Aug. 27, 2009

Carl Probyn, 60, stepfather of Jaycee Lee Dugard who went missing in 1991, reacts while watching a televised news conference of his stepdaughter at his home in Orange, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 27, 2009. Dugard, who was snatched from a bus stop as an 11-year-old child in 1991 turned up Thursday after being held for the past 18 years in isolation in a backyard compound by a convicted sex offender who fathered two children with her, police said. Dugard's stepfather, the last person to see her in 1991 and a longtime suspect in the case, said he was overwhelmed after doing everything he could to help find her. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) / ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Jaycee Lee Dugard is seen in this undated photo provided by her step father William Carl Probyn. A woman walked in into a San Francisco Bay area police station Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2009, saying she was Jaycee Lee Dugard, a blond, pony tailed girl who was abducted as she headed to a school bus stop 18 years ago, said sheriff's Lt. Les Lovell of the El Dorado Sheriff's Department.(AP Photo/ William Carl Probyn via the Orange County Register) / ASSOCIATED PRESS

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The mystery of what happened 18 years ago to the freckled face, gapped tooth 11-year-old girl who was snatched by strangers off the street near her South Lake Tahoe home in 1991 has come to an end.

And while Jaycee Lee Dugard is alive, El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies revealed a story Thursday that alleged the girl was abducted, held captive in a suburban Bay Area backyard since 1991, and impregnated twice by her captor.

Dugard was reunited Thursday with her mother, Terri Probyn, in Northern California. Details of that reunion were not disclosed.

Arrested were Phillip Craig Garrido, 58, a paroled rapist who was convicted in Reno in the 1970s, and his wife, Nancy, 55.

Both were held for investigation of kidnapping and conspiracy. Phillip Garrido also is being held for investigation of rape by force, lewd and lascivious acts with a minor and sexual penetration, said the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department. Formal charges are expected today.

Garrido, who was convicted in 1977 for rape and kidnapping in Reno and served 11 years in federal prison, is described as a religious fanatic who blogged about God and mind control.

El Dorado County Undersheriff Fred Kollar said it was unknown Thursday why the man and his wife targeted Dugard, or what their motives were.

Dugart’s stepfather, Carl Probyn, said he eventually lost hope that he would ever see his stepdaughter alive, and admitted that he was struggling to understand why Dugard didn’t come forward earlier.

“I have a million questions, but I’m just delighted,” he said.

Lived in sheds

After her abduction in 1991, Dugard was forced to live in sheds that were found in a hidden second backyard at Garrido’s Antioch, Calif., home. She also gave birth to two girls, now ages 11 and 15.

“None of the children have ever been to school, they’ve never been to a doctor,” Kollar said. “They were kept in complete isolation in this compound, if you will.”

There was electricity from electrical cords, rudimentary outhouse, rudimentary shower, “as if you were camping,” he said.

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The name the couple gave her was “Allisa.” Authorities were not aware that she had ever made any attempts to reach out for help since she was abducted. Authorities found Wednesday at Garrido’s home a grey sedan that matched the description of the car Dugard was driven away in after being kidnapped.

Despite a lack of medical care, Dugard appeared to be in good health, Kollar said.

“She was in good health, but living in a backyard for 18 years does take its toll,” Kollar said.

She retained custody of the two children, he said.

Snatched

The ordeal began the morning of June 10, 1991, when a couple grabbed Dugard as she walked to her school bus stop and threw her in a gray sedan.

Carl Probyn said he saw someone reach out and grab her before the car speeded away. “As soon as I saw the door fly open, the driver’s door, I jumped on my mountain bike and I tried to get to the top of the hill but I had no energy. I rode back down and yelled at my neighbor, 911!” he recalled.

Probyn, the last person to see her in 1991 and a longtime suspect in the case, said he was overwhelmed after doing everything he could to help find her.

“It broke my marriage up. I’ve gone through hell, I mean I’m a suspect up until yesterday,” Probyn, 60, told The Associated Press at his home in Orange, Calif.

Cracking the case

Authorities credited a University of California, Berkeley police officer for helping to solve the 18-year-old case.

The officer, who was not identified, became suspicious of Phillip Garrido on Tuesday when he took his two young girls to the campus to pass out his religious literature. The officer questioned Garrido and conducted a background check. The officer then contacted Garrido’s parole officer.

On Wednesday, the Garridos were called in to meet the parole officer in Concord, Calif. With them, they brought Dugard and the two girls.

“The diligent questioning and follow-up by the parolee’s agent of record led to Garrido revealing his kidnapping of the adult female,” the department said in a statement. “It was further revealed by Garrido that she was Jaycee Lee Dugard, and that the children were his.”

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A DNA test for official identification is still pending, Kollar said.

Brainwashed?

Kollar said it was too early too tell if Dugard had been brainwashed or if she had tried to escape.

He could not say if she was physically abused, although she would have had to have been about 14 when she gave birth to Garrido’s oldest daughter. He also could not say if the daughters were allegedly molested.

The Garridos were being held at the El Dorado County Jail awaiting arraignment Friday. District Attorney Vern Pierson declined to discuss what charges they will face, and said he will file a criminal complaint by noon.

Garrido was on lifetime parole and his arrest raises questions about how closely parolees are monitored. But Kollar said a parole officer who had visited Garrido’s house previously had not noticed anything amiss — the compound was well concealed by shrubs, garbage cans and a tarp.

“You can’t see over the fence with the shrubbery and the trees. You can’t see the structures,” Kollar said.

Garrido gave a rambling, sometimes incoherent phone interview to KCRA-TV from the El Dorado County jail Thursday in which he said he had not admitted to a kidnapping and that he had turned his life around since the birth of his first daughter 15 years ago.

“I tell you here’s the story of what took place at this house and you’re going to be absolutely impressed. It’s a disgusting thing that took place from the end to the beginning. But I turned my life completely around,” he said.

Lisa Tomaino, who was one of three founders of Child Quest International, which coordinated search efforts for Dugard in 1991, attended Thursday’s press conference. Dugard was her organization’s first stranger child abduction.

“Our motto is keep hope alive,” she said. “We always tell our searching parents to keep hope. This is an example of why you can never give up. This is exhilarating.”

Placerville, Calif. residents Brad and Cindy White were so excited about Dugard’s return they made T-shirts that said “Welcome home, Jaycee.” They also attended the press conference, with scores of local and national media.

“There is so much bad news going on in the media, this just really floored us,” Cindy White said. “We have daughters and remember when she was kidnapped. It was horrendous and we are so glad she’s alive.”

Her husband agreed.

“We forgot about Jaycee because the media hasn’t reminded us,” he said. “Finally, good news.”